Don Dobes, an Ivy League veteran of 26 years, joined the Dartmouth staff in the spring of 2010 as the defensive coordinator for the Big Green. He went right to work on improving a defense with an immediate effect as Dartmouth ranked 35th in points allowed in 2010, while the rushing defense improved 70 spots in the national rankings to help the Green post their first winning record in 13 years.

The following year, Dobes shored up the pass defense, which led the league and ranked 21st nationally, while the scoring defense improved further to 29th at 21.9 points per game. In 2013 the Big Green led the Ivy League in scoring defense (ninth nationally) and pass defense (15th), and last year were second in the league and 19th nationally in scoring defense. Eight times one of his linebackers has earned All-Ivy status at Dartmouth.

Dobes spent 16 seasons as an assistant at Princeton before landing in Hanover. As the Tigers’ linebackers coach, as well as the run defense coordinator beginning in 2000, Dobes helped Princeton to two Ivy championships during his 16 years there — 1995 and 2006. A total of 26 of his linebackers earned All-Ivy recognition, including one who was the fifth-leading tackler in the FCS in Dobes’ last year. He also worked with the punt block/return team and the PAT/field goal blocking unit, and his 2004 and ’05 punt return team led the Ivy League in return average.

Prior to his arrival at Princeton, Dobes spent a season as the assistant head coach and recruiting coordinator at Rowan University in Glassboro, N.J., coaching the inside linebackers. In that lone season with the Profs, Dobes helped them reach the 1993 Division II championship game.

Dobes was the offensive coordinator at Temple University for four years, including in 1990 when the Owls were the most improved team in Division I-A with a 7-4 record, their best mark in 11 years. He coached four NFL players and four All-Big East players during his tenure. Dobes served as the offensive coordinator at Rice University for three years (1986-88) as well.

His Ivy coaching career began at Penn in 1981, spending his first three years as the head freshman coach while compiling a 15-3 record. In 1984, Dobes became the inside linebacker coach, then the offensive line and tight ends coach in his final year with the Quakers in 1985.

A 1979 graduate of Illinois Wesleyan with a degree in physical education, Dobes began his collegiate playing career at Northern Michigan where he was a member of the 1975 Division II national championship squad. At Illinois Wesleyan, he was a two-time letterwinner as well as an all-conference and academic all-state honoree. Dobes earned his master’s in education from DePauw in 1983 and was a graduate assistant coach there for the 1979 and ’80 seasons, the first of which was with Buddy Teevens.

Dobes has four children — Stefanie and Kevin, who are 2007 and 2011 graduates of Princeton, respectively; Russell, a 2010 graduate of Burlington County College; and Trent, a 2015 graduate of Rutgers.